A new Probie
by AspiringWriterGirl
Summary: Grace Baxter comes to the office and claims a lot, including that she knew something about Jenny Shepard. But when things like Russian mobsters get in the way, will Grace find what she was looking for? Or will she lose every last glimmer of hope
1. Chapter 1

It seemed like just another ordinary day in the building but things weren't going to go as planned today. Tony was lounging in his desk chair with his feet on the table. Ziva was taking a phone call. McGee was writing more to his sequel story of Deep Six. Gibbs, like usual, was nowhere to be seen but that doesn't mean he wasn't nearby. The lift doors opened and a young girl entered the room. She seemed oblivious and slightly worried. She cautiously and slowly paced through the room, but stops to look out of the window. Tony notices her and decides to play a little joke on her. He balls up a piece of paper and throws it her way. Within a second she whips around, catches it and throws it back to him.

"Hey." He says quietly rubbing the top of his head.

"That's no way to try and introduce yourself." She snaps. This girl looks young, maybe just turned seventeen years old, she has long brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Her clothes are incredibly casual consisting of dungarees with a t-shirt, converses and an oversized army jacket.

"Well, unless you've a relevant reason to be here I won't need to introduce myself." He replies. She smiles sarcastically.

"Actually I do, I'm looking for my mum and I've tried tracing her down, I've been across Europe and it has brought me here. All I want to do is to find here. So I'd appreciate you not being such a child." She snaps, Ziva puts down the phone.

"She's certainly got a great well of describing you Tony, child."

"I don't think that's what the blonde in the bar from last night would say."

"Tony!" Gibbs yells from the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey boss, sorry boss. No cases have come up today so far." Tony calls back as Gibbs makes his way to the team. The girl watches him.

"And you didn't think to help this girl find her mother? Come on Dinozzo, what happened to good manners?" Gibbs slapped the back of Tony's head.

"What's your mother called kid?" Tony asks getting out from behind his desk.

"Jenny. Jenny Shepard." Suddenly everyone looks up from what they are doing. Gibbs stops in his tracks and turns to look at the girl. "What? Did I say something wrong?" She gasps. "I'm too late. No, no, no!" The girl looks to the window and kicks the wall, resting her head on it. "Why? Why do bad things happen to me?"

"What's your name kid?" Gibbs asks

"It's Grace. Grace Lily Shepard. Originally Baxter but when I found out my mother's name I changed it."

"It is a pretty name." Ziva adds. "What happened your other parents, the Baxters?"

"They died in a plane crash last month, and then in their wills they told me Jenny Shepard's last know location in Europe. In Europe my findings led me here. To the Naval Criminal Investigative Services." Grace explained. "So what was my mother Jenny like?"

"She was a hell of a boss." Tony sighed.

"It was a privilege to have worked with her like I did." Ziva added.

"She never minded much when I did things that we weren't supposed to do." McGee piped up.

"What about you, how did you know my mother?" Grace looked at Gibbs with wide eyes.

"I worked with her a fair amount in my time here and a little in Europe."

"Oh, right. There is one person I'd like to meet before I go, Doctor Mallard? Does he still work here or am I on an elaborate goose chase?"

"Ziva, take her down to see Ducky and Palmer."

"Right Gibbs."

Grace went to the lift with Ziva and the lift doors closed behind them. McGee looked in deep thought.

"Probie, what are you in such deep thought over?" Dinozzo asked.

"No McGee, she's not." Gibbs interrupted disappearing out of sight.

"Care to explain?"

"Come on Tony, don't tell me you can't see it?" McGee smirked at Tony.

"No really what?"

"I thought, well maybe. If. Oh never mind, you know, you just want me to say it and get into trouble." McGee frowned at Tony as he laughed.

"Well at least you have learnt to say no to Dinozzo McGee." Gibbs called from the top of the stairs.

**Autopsy**

Ziva leads Grace into the autopsy where Ducky is busy putting a body away in the storage compartments. Palmer is now wiping down the autopsy table.

"Donald!" Grace exclaims running over to embrace Ducky.

"Hang on a, woah. Oh hello?" When Grace lets go Ducky realises that it is her. "Why Grace, it's you, how have you been?" He pauses. "Grace, I am sorry. I wish you could have known sooner."

"Me too." Grace smiled weakly. "I better be going now. It was nice to see you Doctor Mallard." Grace left the autopsy without Ziva who stayed to chat with Ducky. In the lift Grace pressed the button for the entrance. Suddenly the lift came to a stop. Grace panicked and slammed the alarm button multiple times. "Come on, come on." A hatch in the roof of the lift dropped down and a masked figure dropped down. Behind Grace's back she made an upwards arrow pointing to the roof of the lift with her finger in dots. "What the, who are you?" She pressed her palm up against the wall of the lift to support herself. The figure threw a few jabs and a kick to Grace's gut. She hit the rail in the lift and crumpled to the floor with a nosebleed.

**Main office**

"We've got a hit." McGee said. "There's been a stabbing in an apartment downtown. The landlord to a block of apartments was asking for the rent in one of the apartments according to a neighbour who overheard the shouting."

"Tony, get Ziva, go to the apartment and search for clues. McGee, go to the hospital."

"What about you boss?" McGee asks.

"I'm going to check out something." The three men went to the lift and waited for the lift doors to open. Tony was about to walk in when Gibbs' arm shot out, stopping him before he walks into the lift. There is a small smear of blood on the floor and along the rail. Even the hatch is still open. "Something tells me we're in for a surprise. Tony go to the apartment. McGee, go and get Ziva, tell her to go and talk to the landlord in the hospital, remember he's a master gunnery sergeant, so he'll know what to tell you."

"Right boss. On it boss." McGee replies heading for the stairs. Gibbs quickly starts on the lift. First, a swab of the blood on the floor and the rail. Gibbs picked up a used pocket knife, which had blood on the tip and down the sharp side of the blade. Then, a UV light to the lift hatch. Nothing. But when he goes to put the UV light away it catches the handprint and the finger printed arrow. To the hatch._ Someone knew what to give them to look for._ Thought Gibbs. "Boss, Ziva's on her way to the hospital. What can I do?"

"I'm practically finished here. I've got something to sort out. Let me know when you find a match for the blood and fingerprints."

"Right, I'll take it down to Abby now." McGee takes the evidence in his hands as Gibbs throws his gloves in the bin.

**The lab**

"What have you got for me McGee?" Abby beamed at him as he walks in the door.

"Nothing special. Stuff in the lift that Gibbs wants you to check out."

"What? No fair, that's not worth doing." McGee holds up a KafPow drink which starts up Abby's work. The blood from the floor came back with no hits. But the blood from the rail and knife matched, it was linked to a Russian mob group.

"Wow, this guy means business and he has been up for multiple stabbings and a kidnapping."

"But that was the blood on the knife so he must be injured."

"Definitely."

"And the handprint has no hits. But the unidentified blood, it, it has picked up a relation to someone who is in the NCIS employee data base."

"It's Shepard's. That's Grace's blood, isn't it? " McGee corrects Abby.

"It is, this blood is the daughter of Jenny but she didn't have any children." Abby protested.

"Abby, I'm going to ask you to do something that Gibbs would kill me for."

"No way, you don't think that this girl could be, that she would be?"

"Who knows? This girl who calls herself Grace Lilly Shepard is identical to Gibbs in so many ways."

"On your head be it McGee." Abby puts up Jenny's DNA on the left side of the screen and Gibbs' on the right. She then compares the DNA with Grace's. "There is a high probability that Grace is Gibbs' and Shepard's daughter." Abby sighs.

"Well I never saw that coming." McGee gawps at the screen. "Really?"

"I'm positive. This Grace Lilly girl could be Gibbs' daughter. We can't tell anyone, not until we are positive."

"I don't want to be the one to tell Gibbs."

**The hospital**

"Sergeant Anderson, my name is Ziva David, I need to ask you a few questions."

"The guy who attacked me had short brown hair, styled with a considerable amount of gel. He wore baggy jeans and a red tartan shirt. His nose was broken and slightly narrow. Brown eyes."

"And the-"

"The knife was a small steak knife with a dark mahogany coloured handle but he wore gloves dark leather gloves."

"Can you tell me what happened?" Ziva asked, quite pleased with how cooperative Mr Anderson was being.

"I was trying to get rent from one of my tenants."

"Which tenant? If you are at liberty to say so."

"If it helps to catch this rat, the tenant was Delilah C. Graspery. That's what her forms always said."

"That is an unusual name in general, did you not find it suspicious?"

"At first year, but there was no evidence that she was a convicted felon. I don't question the name if I get my rent money."

"And does this Miss Graspery normally give her rent in on time?"

"Well of course, otherwise I wouldn't have gone a knocking on the door."

"I apologise, but carry on. What happened after you knocked on the door?" Ziva continued. But the Master Gunnery Sergeant wasn't impressed.

"Oh of course, I was knocking on the door, it was silent on the other side. But I heard the sound of a lamp being knocked over so I used the key I have. This guy was in there rifling through Miss Graspery's belongings. I leapt at him but they pushed me aside and used the steak knife he took from the kitchen."

"How do you know it was from the kitchen?"

"Because just one knife was missing from those knife holders that was in the kitchen."

"Excellent, if you think of anything else I might need to know, here's a number to reach me on. Thank you for all your help."

"And you Miss David." Sergeant Anderson began to cough heavily causing the nurse on duty to drag Ziva out of the room.

**The apartment**

Tony walked up the stairs to of a relatively nice looking apartment. He admired it in a way. Up to the second floor and across to the ransacked apartment. A woman, still wearing her skimpy pyjamas and a silk dressing gown was waiting by her own apartment.

"I wondered how long it would be before they someone to the apartment but I didn't know it would be one that I knew." The woman said leaning on the door frame. Tony smiled awkwardly.

"Well, you had your chance last night and you blew it so, I'm going to get to work and then I'll need to ask you a few questions." Tony went into the apartment and began to look around the apartment, not touching anything just yet. He couldn't help but feel he was being watched. By the woman. Yet the moment that he took out the camera to take pictures of the apartment she disappeared behind her apartment door. But he managed to get her face in the picture as she closed the door.

Tony dusted for prints on the door but found nothing. Then he sealed the knife box and other knives into a clear sealed bag. Luminol showed no trace of blood, nor did the UV light. He did however find a footprint which he was able to lift with adhesive tape which picked up a strange particle on the print. But Tony suddenly stopped, there wasn't much else he could think of to do. Instead, he tried to collect information about the tenant. It seemed like a modern apartment with minimal belongings in it. It seemed totally clean of trace or objects. He noticed some important documents that had been hidden under the sofa. But when he opened the wardrobe he found a small safe box which could only be about the size of an electronic cabinet and not very small in depth. "Bag and tag it." He murmured to himself. Seeing as he had done everything else he could think of doing he went to talk to the lady across the hall.

He knocked on the door, no answer. Tony knocked a little harder when the man with the laundry trolley came to the woman's apartment. She answered the door wearing a new set of clothes that she could lounge about in.

"Oh sorry, of course, you can go in and collect the sheets, there in a pile by the bed. Hello, erm what was the name? Tony?"

"Erm, yeah that's me." Tony replied. The man shortly came out of the apartment with the mountain of bedding and duvets. Then he was down by the end of the corridor going into the lift.

"Hey, I'll ask again, were there any questions that you wanted me to answer." The woman repeated to Tony.

"Before I start, your name is?"

"Really? That's how you get women these days? It's Elsa, Elsa Monroe."

"No but back to the point, I just want you to talk me through what you saw or more heard."

"I can't tell you much, I was just coming out of the shower when I heard the door slam shut. With the towel wrapped around me I opened my door and saw the landlord on the floor so I called nine, one, one."

"Right, did you know who ever it was that lived across the hall?"

"Well, I've said hello to her a couple of times. In the hallway. But nothing more really. What was her name? Delilah or something like that."

"Okay, if you think of anything else you think I might want to know then give me a call."

"What about personal calls?" She smiled broadly.

"Let's leave it at helpful information if that's alright."

"What? Are you not going to get involved personally with me? Or am I just not your type?" She moved closer to Tony who edged back.

"Well if you hear anything then let me know."

**California home**

Gibbs was waiting at the door for an answer. An elderly lady with long, thick grey hair answered the door.

"Hello." She paused. "Leroy, is that you?"

"Yes Mam. May I come in?"

"Please just call me Ida Leroy." The lady leads Gibbs inside and encourages him to take a seat in a small armchair whilst she makes him some coffee. "Still like the coffee the usual way?"

"Yes please. Thank you." Gibbs replies as he looks out of the living room window. Soon after Ida returns with a coffee for Gibbs and something for herself.

"So what brings you back here Leroy? I take it I should brace myself shouldn't I?"

"Someone turned up to the office today looking for Jenny." Gibbs started but Ida clasped her hand over her mouth.

"That can't be true. It is isn't it?"

"She calls herself Grace Lilly Shepard."

"Jenny always did say when she was young that if she ever had a daughter that she would name her Grace. She loved that name. So what is she doing here Gibbs?"

"Her adoptive parents from England died and she came looking for Jenny."

"Is she yours?" Ida asked but Gibbs did not reply. "Answer me Leroy, do you think that she is your daughter?" Ida added sternly, prompting for an answer.

"I don't know, do you think Jenny would have told me if she had a child? She clearly didn't tell you so what makes you think she would tell me." Gibbs yelled. _Grace can't be mine, stop thinking that she is when you know she isn't_. Gibbs tried to reassure himself.

"When she took the job in Europe I had very little contact with her. And that was down to her Leroy. I would have loved nothing more than to have heard anything from her. Well Leroy, I hope that for her sake, she has her mother's gene, I don't want a sniper for a granddaughter."

"If it is any constellation she doesn't look like her mother."

"Oh Leroy. Haven't you got some investigation to do?"

"Okay, it's quiet so I thought I could easily make a visit here."

"Hmm. Well, it was nice seeing you. Goodbye Leroy." Gibbs took that reply as his ticket to leave and walked out of the house before driving off.

**The apartment**

After talking to Elsa for what seemed like an age but was really only about ten minutes Tony turned to go back into the apartment and collected all of the stuff to take back to the lab.

**The lab**

"Dinozzo, hit me with it, what have you got?" Abby imitates Gibbs voice as Tony walks into the lab.

"Abby, you are getting scarily good at that." Tony replies handing over the set of items he has collected from the apartment. The footprint, the documents and the safe box. McGee took the box and dusted it for prints which prevailed, collecting one set of prints which were passed onto Abby. Then the video phone went off, it was Gibbs and he wanted a meeting for everyone to collaborate what they had found out about the stabbing.

"See you later mini Gibbs." Dinozzo calls out to Abby. McGee shortly follows and Abby whips up the DNA comparison between Jenny, Grace and Gibbs, it looked to match.

"Wow." Murmurred Abby. "Who would have thought of it?" When she turned to the documents, they were all about Shepard but when she look at the notes that Dinozzo and Ziva had patched through to her she saw the tenant's name was Delilah C Graspery. But the prints on the notes matched the handprint in the lift. "What would Delilah be doing in our lift? If they are her prints that is? And why would she have documents about Jenny?" Then she turned to the safe box which she managed to prise open. In it were a series of photos of a baby girl growing up through her childhood and teen years right up until she must have been about seventeen. When Abby wrote out the label 'Evidence from Delilah C Graspery's apartment' she noticed something with the name. On a scrap piece of paper she wrote out the letters of the name in a circle in random places along it. Afterwards she drew a line from letter to letter until they were all gone. "No way!"

**Upstairs in the office**

"What have you got for me?" Gibbs asks. Tony shows a slideshow of the photos of the apartment giving all of the details he has gotten from the apartment. Ziva then tells them the information she gathered from Sergeant Anderson. "What about the lift McGee?"

"One set of prints. Unidentified. The blood droplets picked up a link to Jenny Shepard, similar DNA. The blood on the rail and knife matched to a Russian mobster. The knife contained the unidentified prints and had an inscriptions of R#9."

"Rule number nine, never leave home without a knife." Tony interrupts.

"Could be, you know boss. I think that someone was taken from the lift."

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs." Abby comes running towards Gibbs and the rest of the team carrying the safe box. "The set of unidentified prints matched prints found on documents in Delilah C. Graspery's apartment. But I later found that Delilah C. Graspery doesn't exist. So I played with the name, none other than Grace Lilly Shepard."

"So not only was this girl's apartment raided but if McGee's theory is correct then she was kidnapped from the lift. Gibbs, you might want to have a look at this." Abby holds out the safe box. Gibbs opens it and resting on the very top is a strip of fabric with a number that matches his own ID number from when he was in the marines. "It also contains pictures of a child growing up."

"It's Grace. This one here, this looks like her." Ziva says peering over Gibbs' shoulder. "Do you have any idea where the Russian mobster could have taken Grace?"

"Who knows but there must be some piece of evidence here." Tony added looking at the screen with the pictures.

"Who said something about a lamp being broken?" McGee asked.

"That would be Sergeant Anderson. He entered the room because he heard a lamp smash." Ziva replied.

"But look at the pictures Tony took. What do you notice?"

"That there is no lamp at all in the area. Apart from the lamp that is in one piece right there." Ziva points to the screen.

"Tony with me, we are going to visit Master Gunnery Sergeant Anderson." Gibbs demanded.

"What about us Gibbs?" Ziva and McGee look to Gibbs for something to do.

"Well, use your brain." As they didn't move, Gibbs sighed dramatically. "Find out more about the Russian mobsters." Ziva and McGee set to work. As Gibbs and Tony got into the lift, the doors were about to close but Ziva put her hand in between the doors. She was holding her mobile to her ear. She disconnected the call and got in the lift with her co workers.

"Anderson has just died. That was the nurse who found my number in his belongings."

"What do we do now boss?" Dinozzo asked.

"We check it out. I don't believe it was a complete accident." Gibbs pressed the button to the basement. "Tell Ducky to meet us there."

**An old warehouse**

Grace Shepard is sitting, taped to a chair.

"Who are you?" She asks her kidnapper. "What do you want with me?"

"I don't want anything to do with you, she is the one who wants you." Their voice sounded distorted, it didn't sound right at all. One door opened and the blonde woman that lived across the hall from where Grace had been staying, the woman who called herself Elsa.

"My, my, you are quite the trooper." She said coming down the steps.

"Elsa, what are you doing here?"

"Elsa. My name isn't Elsa, it's Natalya Chernitskaya. And I'm here to take my revenge as your relatives have done so to me."

"What? I don't know what you are talking about."

"Your father killed my sister's other half. Then your parent's mentor shot my sister. So now I am going to return the favour." Natalya put a cloth over Grace's mouth and she slumped down in the chair.

**The hospital**

"Here, seeing as Mr Anderson had a next of kin, you can take the remainder of his belongings," The nurse handed Dinozzo a box smiling cheerfully at him. "I hear that you want to take the body for closer examination. Doctor Mallard has already come to pick up the body."

"Thank you." Tony replied taking the box back to the car. "Hopefully this will help us a little." Gibbs phone began to ring.

"Abby?" Gibbs said picking up the phone.

"Gibbs, I was testing the particles that Tony found on the shoeprint. I turns out to have traces of an object similar to copper and I searched for factories or companies that use this kind of copper. I found one warehouse that I think you should check out. But I'd hurry if I were you. We don't know what these people are capable of."

"Thanks Abby."

"Take care and stay safe." The call disconnected and Gibbs swerved in another direction.

"So we're going are we boss? I thought there was a rule about not getting involved in cases personally."

"But there is a rule where you do everything you possibly can for family. And if Grace really is my daughter then I have to do what it takes."

They stopped at the warehouses which Abby was talking about. Gibbs, Tony and Ziva cautiously got out of the car and opened the door. Keeping their hands poised on their guns they made their way to the warehouse door. One, two, three. They burst in the door and walked through the main hanger. No one was there but there were crates of copper wires and tubing. An empty chair with remnants of tape attached to the arms.

"Clear." Ziva came back from the next room.

"Clear." Tony echoed from the other end of the hanger.

"She's not here is she Gibbs?" Ziva asked putting the gun back in its holster.

"No." Uttered Gibbs. "She's long gone but they want to keep her alive for now."

"How do you know?"

"If they didn't, we would have found her dead body here."

"Boss, you might want to check this out." Tony calls from the door at the other end of the hanger. Gibbs and Ziva followed Tony into the room. There was a workshop table stained with blood and bloody tools beside it, smaller ones like what a surgeon would use. A metal box sat pristinely on a small pool of the blood. Taking a glove in his hand Tony pulled the handle of the metal box and flipped the lid back. He recoiled in disgust, Ziva and Gibbs looked in the box to see a kidney lying in it.

"It's a message." Ziva said. "If I can speak my mind, which I will. It reminds me of Daisy Jones."

"You mean Davey Jones." Tony corrected before receiving an evil glare from Ziva.

"He was the one who has his heart in the locker. Well kidney in a box, heart in a locker. Maybe they are trying to connect to the sea. Or perhaps if they know Grace Shepard, maybe it's your marine background."

"Take the box, we'll go to the Harbour." Gibbs left the room. They drove to the Harbour where Gibbs got a phone call from Ducky.

"What is it Ducky?"

"Well, our Sergeant Anderson had elevated morphine levels. This was no natural death, but possibly foul play. How was the warehouse? Did you find anything?"

"A kidney in a box."

"Oo. Well that reminds me of."

"Hang on Ducky, we off to the Harbour. We don't have much time." Gibbs snaps shutting the phone and tossing it at Tony. At Gibbs' driving speed they were at the Harbour within seconds. Gibbs ran down the pier searching for any sign of Grace. There were just so many boats both in the harbour and out to sea. It was like a parade of boats all in one place. Gibbs ran his hand through his hair as he checked all directions but a splash caught his attention. The smallest simple sailing boat with a bright yellow deck. Struggling in the water was a bulky man. But still on the boat was a small figure who had their feet taped together and hands tied behind their back. Gibbs ran to the end of the jetty.

"Gibbs!" Tony called out from a boat with a large engine hanging off the edge, Gibbs climbed down a ladder by the end of the jetty and jumped into the boat. Ziva followed the two men in the coast guards boat. The yellow decked boat was moving swiftly further out to sea as the taped person tried to steer the tiller behind their back. "Is that Grace?" Tony squinted at the figure. The figure turned to see them pursuing her, it was Grace and she began to shake her head vigorously. But still they pursued her so she held the tiller straight between her ankles ducking under the boom as it swing to catch the wind. As her hands got free she ripped the tape from her mouth.

"Get away from here!" She screamed.

"What's she saying Tony?" Ziva called out over the engine of both boats.

"I don't know, I can't make it out." Tony replied.

"Stop!" Grace screamed again. The boom swung again and she dropped to the deck. Pulling the sail in as tight as it would go she pushed the tiller away from her making the boat turn abruptly to the right. "Get away!" A red flare lit up the harbour and tore through Grace's sail. "Go back!"

"Stop the engine Tony!" Gibbs yelled. "Ziva, yours too!"

"Go back to the harbour." Grace yelled clearly.

"Why Grace?" Gibbs yelled back.

"She'll kill us both if you make it to me. The flare was a warning shot. Grace stood up, supporting herself up by the mast of the boat and they saw a red patch soaking through her jumper. Gibbs realised it was her kidney that was in the metal box.

"You need medical help Grace. Who's going to kill us?"

"Natalya Chernitskaya. Mike Franks killed her sister because my mum didn't and you killed her sister's other half." Grace replied. Another flare tore through the air and hit the boat Grace was sitting on, she leapt into the water. Gibbs scanned the harbour and noticed a woman running down the harbour, away from them. Suddenly Grace's body resurfaced with a knife to her throat, it was the man that had kidnapped her.

"Woah, woah. Take it easy." Gibbs said putting his hands out trying to stop the man doing answer hasty, he was an amateur, he didn't know what he was doing.

"He's a decoy Gibbs, she's getting away." Grace muttered. There were tyre screeches and they turned to see a large jeep like car disappear from sight. "Go after her, stop her before she hurts anyone else. Goodbye everyone." Grace's body ducked under the water, the man went mental and dropped the knife as he splashed about for Grace's body. Through the splashes he screamed. Then he thrashed about. Grace came splashing out on the water and clung onto the side of the boat that Tony and Gibbs were on. Gibbs hauled her onto the boat and the coast guards dragged the other man onto their boat only to see the knife was hanging out of his thigh, only a centimetre was in the flesh.

"Take him to the hospital and keep him under surveillance."

"Okay Gibbs." Ziva replied as the coast guard returned to the harbour. Grace winced as her hand became coated in a pool of glistening blood.

"The stitches must have ripped." Grace sighed pulling up her jumped to see an open wound by a large incision. "Ow!" Grace peeled a sock of her wet foot and pressed it to the wound biting on her lip a little. "I didn't mean to stab him but he didn't stab Anderson though he was in my apartment. And I figured that out, he didn't tell me." Tony took the boat back to the harbour and they drove to the hospital where Grace was patched up. At the hospital, the team gathered. Gibbs sat by Grace's bed whilst Tony, Ziva, McGee, Abby, Ducky, Palmer and Vance sat outside. Gibbs came out of the room as the doctor came back.

"Here are the discharge forms. Erm, who I going to take these?" Everyone looked to Gibbs who was silent. But the doctor pushed the files into Gibbs' arms. "Guess it's down to you." Then the doctor walks away. Gibbs stares down at the files. Abby gets up and whispers into Gibbs.

"Don't look so scared, it'll be a chance for you to get to know Grace." She kissed his cheek and walked off with Ducky and Palmer. The other three were about to leave but Vance called them to stay back.

"I was reviewing a few documents from Grace Shepard's apartment and I feel that I should honour something I found in them. Gibbs, how would you like a new member to your team?" Vance asked. Gibbs turned to look at Grace who was sitting up in the bed eating from a bowl of gloopy hospital food. She noticed them all staring at her and she raised an eyebrow.

"Well I think that would be down to her. Not me." Gibbs said. Vance peered around the door.

"Looks like you are the newest member of the NCIS team." He said, completely shocking Grace.

"Really? Are you sure you can put up with me?" She asked but the team nodded.

"I better be going now. See you in the morning." Vance turned on his heels and walked out of the hospital.

"Off you go guys, I want to see you bright and early in the morning." Gibbs nudged McGee, Tony and Ziva away before going to see Grace. "Everything okay?"

"It certainly is. Dad."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, apart from Grace who is my own idea

A/N Hope it's okay :P

"I'm going to go home now, sort out the spare room for you. You'll be alright here won't you? You can go pick up some stuff from your apartment. Then I'll come and get you. Okay?" Gibbs asked his daughter, his question was answered with a slight nod.

"That's okay, bye." Grace watched Gibbs leave before she decided to leave herself.

Grace walked out of the hospital and went to find a taxi to take her home. The air was cold and bitter as she stepped down off the pavement. She took her phone out of her jacket pocket to check it for messages or calls. There was nothing.

"Grace?" The voice startled her. She looked up to see an old friend she had met when she first came to America. It was a guy named Dylan and he lived in the apartment building adjacent to Grace.

"Dylan? What are you doing here?"

"My cousin just had a baby. But I'm going back to my apartment, do you want to join me?"

"I'll share a cab and the tab but I'd rather be alone right now."

"Oh. That's fine. If you need me, you know where to find."

When Grace finally reached her own apartment, she noticed the empty apartment opposite hers. One that had originally been occupied by a woman who called herself Elsa who turned out to be Natalya, the Russian mobster. Grace walked through her apartment which was still turned upside down from the ransacking. The files she had compiled about her mother were gone, so was the box. Those were the two things that she had treasured the most in life. Instead she packed some clothes, the majority of her hand held electronics, a few DVDs, her favourite book, her old childhood toy teddy and she realised there was one more thing she should take. Grace went to the full length mirror that stood in the corner of the room. She felt behind the back of the mirror. It wasn't there.

"Looking for this by any chance?" Grace leapt to the direction of the voice and held one arm up to the throat of the intruder who held her desert eagle pistol in his hand. Grace's other hand pushed the arm up close to their throat. "You!" It was Dinozzo. "You shouldn't creep around like that." She snapped getting off of Dinozzo and kicking him gently in the side of the stomach. "Get up then. What are you even doing here?" She prised her pistol from Tony's hand and stuffed it in her bag.

"Gibbs sent me." Dinozzo replied quickly, his eyes darting to the side.

"Say that again." Grace demands placing her hand around her wrist.

"Gibbs sent me here."

"Liar." Grace picks up the sports bag with the majority of her belongings in and stormed out of the apartment.

"Eh? No, no, I'm not actually." Dinozzo followed Grace.

"Your pulse got quicker Tony, you were lying." Grace pressed the button for the lift and froze as the doors opened, she recalled when her captor kidnapped her the past day. She stopped and stumbled down the stairs as Dinozzo caught up with her. When she got out of the apartment she ran into the crowds, in an attempt to get away from Tony who lost her in the crowd. Grace had to stop to catch a breath, panting with her head between her knees, her hands propped on her knees.

"I really did sent Dinozzo to go to your apartment." She looked up to see Gibbs.

"I learnt not to trust people who you don't know too well." Grace turned to see Dinozzo catching up to her. "He needs practice on rule number seven."

"How do you know about the Gibbs rules?" Dinozzo asks.

"Ah, rule number four Tony." Grace smiles tapping the side of her nose.

"Touche." Dinozzo shrugs a little but grins when Grace receives a slap to the back of the head.

"Rule fifteen Grace, you'll need that one in NCIS." Gibbs smirks a little.

Gibbs takes Grace back to his house. He shows her the guest room and leaves her to get sorted. After she has finished unpacking her sports bag, she hides the desert eagle pistol inside the cover of an encyclopaedia which has been removed from the pages, it's just a hollowed out cover. But it looks like an ordinary book on the bookshelf. Grace wanders around the house until she found her father in the basement. Working on another boat.

"She's beautiful." Grace murmured.

"One of many." Gibbs replied as Grace sits at the top of the stairs with her legs hanging off the edge.

"So what's it like working on NCIS?"

"Well, it has its ups and its downs. You meet people and you lose people." Gibbs trails off a little. "IN the end, it is satisfying to solve a case."

"Hmm, I wonder what the day will bring us tomorrow. Shall I make us some dinner?" Grace asked her father.

"Oh, I guess, if you'd like to." Grace went into the kitchen and made a simple spaghetti Bolognese which after she put it on the table, Gibbs just took his downstairs into the basement.

**The office the next day**

Grace perched awkwardly on the chair at McGee's desk. Gibbs was peacefully drinking his morning coffee as Tony and Ziva typed away on their computers. McGee was nowhere to be seen. He was actually having coffee with the blonde lady who called herself Elsa to Grace and Tony, called herself Laura to McGee but was really Natalya Cherniskaya.

"Oh Tim, look at the time, shouldn't you be getting on now? Won't the others be waiting?" She laughed.

"They won't mind, Tony and Ziva are late all the time, I'm sure one of them will be later than I am."

"Well, I'd rather you didn't get on Gibbs' bad side."

"Oh never mind about him, he will be busy watching his own daughter."

"His daughter? You never mentioned anything about a daughter. What's her name?"

"Her name is Grace. But you are right. I should go. I'll let you know later if I can meet you."

"Whatever you say Tim, don't worry about it. I'll survive. Besides, I have to move into my new apartment."

"I told you Laura. You shouldn't have to find a new place, I would have let you stay with me. I have plenty of room."

"Get going Tim." Laura kissed his cheek before walking away herself.

Back in the office Gibbs was quick to star McGee down. He waited for an answer but McGee wouldn't give one.

"I was just late Gibbs. It was my own fault, I didn't mean to, it was my fault." McGee tried to defend himself.

"What are you hiding McGee?" Ziva asked.

"Nothing, I am hiding nothing."

"Rubbish, McGee has been seeing a lady." Grace flicked her fingers out as if she was removing a bit of dirt from her finger. Dinozzo grinned.

"Yeahh, she's right. Mini probie is on to something." Dinozzo nudged McGee.

"No, no she's not. There isn't anyone, no one." McGee shook his head. "You're all just drawing conclusions now aren't you?"

"So what's her name McGee?" Ziva smiled.

"Her, name- No, there is no one."

"Look at you going bright red McGee. Awww." Ziva smiles.

"Come on guys, let's go." Gibbs slapped the back of Tony, Ziva and Tim's head. Grace picks up her bag and follows her father, diving into the lift as the doors close. Leaving McGee, Dinozzo and Ziva on the other side.

"That's mean." Grace winces a little.

"When they learn to think quicker it won't backfire on them so much. You seem to cope just fine so why can't they?" Gibbs laughed a little.

"Can I drive?" Grace asked.

"I'm going to say no because, if your driving is really anything like mine then the team might be dead before you get near the crime scene."

"I think I'm an alright driver actually." Grace sighs rolling her eyes.

**The crime scene**

"So whose home is this?" Grace asked as she shut the car door.

"This is Chief Petty Officer Lake and his wife, a naval recruit." Dinozzo replied. "And they have a six year old daughter named Christy who survived."

"Where is she?" Grace asked.

"That's her over there." Dinozzo tipped his head to one side indicating the girl sitting on the back of the NCIS van with Palmer checking her out. Grace walked over to Christy and bent down to her level.

"Hi there, my name's Grace, now you seem like the person who would have a pretty name, what's your?" She asked.

"My name's Christy." The little girl replied.

"Oh, I love that name. And who is this?" Grace pointed to the toy in Christy's arms.

"He's called Leo, he's a lion."

"Is he a scary lion?"

"No!" Christy squealed a little.

"Really, so if you saw a lion, you wouldn't be scared?" Grace opened her eyes wide taking Leo gently in her hand and rubbing him on Christy's nose.

"No silly!"

"Right." Grace made Leo nuzzle her own ear. "What did you say Leo?" She paused. "No, I don't think I should ask Christy that? Should I?"

"Ask me, ask me." Christy yelled.

"Leo wants to know if you feel okay. Do you feel okay?" Grace asked and Christy nodded. "Leo asked me why you were playing hide and seek so late at night, why Christy?"

"He didn't." Christy wrinkled up her nose. "Did he?"

"Shall we ask him again?" Grace made Leo nod. "Well he says it's what he was asking. He says he was a little scared when you were hiding."

Palmer and Ducky are intrigued by the way that Grace is working with Christy and watch in anticipation as Christy begins to tell Grace what happened.

"Mummy told me to hide in the airing cupboard."

"Right, then why happened?" Grace forgot to let Leo whisper that to her.

"Leo, he didn't ask that!" Snapped Christy folding her arms. Grace shyly dropped Leo on the ground.

"Oh, that's because me and Leo are such good friends that we know what each other is thinking."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do. Because Leo's thinking about what you saw early this morning. Before the nice men here took you out of the house." Grace explained. "This here is Ducky and this is Palmer."

"I saw a man come into the house. I didn't like him. He made Mummy cry. Daddy tried to help but I I-"

"What did you see Christie?" Leo perches on Grace's shoulder.

"Nothing. I want Leo!" Christy wailed.

"Here you go. He thinks you are very brave. I do too." Grace placed Leo in Christy's arms. But when she stood up and turned to go a small hand clasped her own hand.

"Stay here." Christy pleaded. Grace looked to Ducky and Palmer who smiled.

"We'll tell Gibbs you're a little preoccupied with witnesses." Palmer suggested before the pair of them walked inside. Inside, the dad's body lay face up and bleeding over the entrance of the larger bedroom. The wife was facing the opposite direction and face down at the other end of the hall upstairs.

"Does it not seem peculiar that the two bodies are facing opposite directions?" Palmer spoke into the Dictaphone. "The male victim shows abrasions on the arms, possibly after being gripped around the wrist. Then again, could be signs of a struggle, could be domestic violence. Absence of a ring from the minor tan line on his ring finger. The female victim, presumed to be the male victim's wife. No abrasions on her body, just a gunshot to the chest so she definitely bled out. A possible fracture to the skull. Possibly blunt force trauma." Palmer explains as he burrows into her hair to see some blood around a crack in the skin. "Sample of hair here." He adds picking up a blond strand of hair with the tweezers. "And a sample of blood for the records. Okay, let's get these bodies down to the autopsy." Ducky and Palmer load the bodies up on the NCIS van. Grace is telling Ziva everything that Christy has told her as Christy holds Grace's hand watching the others investigating her house.

"She says she saw a man enter the house, he fought and struggled with her Dad, the mother intervened and was shot. She doesn't know who by but then she heard another shot."

"Where did she say she was hiding?" Ziva asked.

"Are you going to show the nice lady Ziva where you were hiding?" Grace picked up Christy and walked through the house as she was directed to the airing cupboard. Downstairs, effectively in a cupboard under the stairs. Ziva looked puzzled.

"Are you sure?"

"Something doesn't fit in, I guarantee you that." Grace whispered. "Come on Christy, let's go back outside."

"Yeah!" Squealed Christy. Then all of a sudden as soon as Grace stepped out of the door, Christy started crying. "I want my Mummy!" She squirmed in Grace's arms and Grace swung her around in a circle.

"Shhh. Don't cry, it'll be okay." She continually swings Christy around until she is silent and sniffing loudly through some tears.

"Why did Mummy get hurt?" Christy asked.

"Mummy got hurt because, because she wanted to protect you." Grace replied, as Christy buried her face into Grace's shoulder.

The team soon arrived back at the office where Grace was looking after Christy in the space around the desks. But Christy gets up and climbs onto Dinozzo's desk who is gone, probably at the toilet. Ziva looks up from the desk and begins to snigger. Grace can't help but laugh as Christy picks up the phone and talks to it. Then she begins to pull some sheets out from a small stack which sends them onto the floor.

"Oops." Christy squeaks leaping off the chair and back to her paint on the floor with Grace who is just staring wide eyed at the sheets as Tony returns to his desk.

"What the-? Oh very mature Ziva."

"I have nothing to do with that." Ziva replies.

Christy then drops the paintbrush onto the paper and makes hand print paints on it. As Dinozzo begins to pick up the sheets, Christy runs over to him and makes a hand print on the side of his face and on him leg.

"Oh come on." Dinozzo growls. Grace swipes Christy off the floor, whisking her off to wash her hands. Ziva runs off to join them. When they came back, Gibbs was there with McGee.

"Oh Dinozzo, look at you. How creative are you?" McGee taunts Dinozzo.

"Dinozzo, if you want play time, I'm sure Christy would love to have a play date." Gibbs suggested as Christy ran back to the desks. She looked at Gibbs and then ran over to him. But he stopped her. "Let's see those hands first." Christy shows her pristine and clean hands before Gibbs lets her climb onto his knee. "Okay, what can you tell me?"

"Well, the bullets are that of a desert eagle pistol from the bullets extracted by Ducky. But Abby only came up with one hit and that was a Tyler Baxter who is dead." Ziva begins. Tony had a sight sudden realisation and looks to Grace. She looks pleadingly to him shaking her a head a little.

"Something the matter Grace?" Gibbs asks.

"Erm, no, I might just go check on Donald and ask him a little something." Grace strides away quickly going down into the autopsy room.

**Autopsy**

"Donald?" Grace asks but Palmer is the only one there.

"Oh, he'll be back soon. What was wrong?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted to chat with him. So can you tell me anything interesting about our victims?"

"A little. Come here." Palmer shows Grace the male victim, Christy's father's body on the autopsy table. "If you look closely here, there is a bruising to the side of the face, most likely a fist shape. So someone really didn't like this guy."

"And his wife?"

"No special news. Well, I'm waiting for Abby to tell me the results of the hair sample. But there were some epithelial cells found under her nails which have also been sent to the lab."

"S is just being shot."

"Effectively with both victims you could say that."

"What more have you got Palmer?"

"Erm… Well. Doctor Mallard has a feeling that Mrs Lake had a child recently."

"But the baby wasn't at the house."

"Why hello Grace, what brings you here?" Ducky enters the autopsy wiping his hands.

"Something really bad has happened." Grace begins to whimper.

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment that you have come to me, I think you have better take it up with Gibbs." Ducky puts a hand on Grace's cheek. "You are so like your mother."

"Thank you." Grace runs out of the autopsy and into the lift where she slides down the wall of the lift to the floor, resting her head on her knees. Holding them close to her chest. When the doors open she just ignores it and lets them close again.

**Main office**

The others are busy discussing the findings from the crime scene when Gibbs notices the lift doors opening and closing back and forth so he goes to investigate after leaving Christy in his own office chair. When he gets to the lift he sees Grace sitting there and is reminded of the time when Abby was sitting in there. Instead of going in to sit down with her he makes a phone call. Minutes later Abby comes to the lift and sits beside Grace, resting her head on Grace's shoulder.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Abby asked.

"No."

"Well something's got you down. And I don't know about you but I've got something you might like to see downstairs in my lab."

"Really?"

"Yep." Abby reaches up for the lift button to the lab and the doors close. Down in the lab Grace is amazed by the equipment in Abby's lab, then she sees the bullet from the desert eagle. "One thing, don't touch my evidence." She picks up the desert eagle bullet and files it away.

"Abby."

"Yes Grace?"

"I think that, I think that. It's really hot in here…" Grace fell to the floor, unbeknownst to Abby who sets about doing more of her work.

"Grace? Grace!" Abby rushed over to Grace. "Can you hear me?"

"The desert eagle bullet might be mine." Grace rubbed her eyes sitting up. "Where am I? I'm in a lab. A good one too."

"What did you just say?"

"I didn't say anything before I asked where I was Abby."

"Right. You said something before then. I'm sure you did."

"I don't remember saying anything, what did it sound like I said?"

"Something about a desert eagle pistol."

"Then I have to go up now. It's urgent. I have to face the facts." Grace was in the lift before Abby could try and stop her. "Come on Grace, come on Grace, you have to tell them." When the door opens she strides over to Gibbs' desk. "I need to show you something. I'm a little worried about something."

"Well say it, whatever you think that I need to know, you're perfectly able to tell these guys."

"I can't, I need you to take me back to yours."

"What the heck is it Grace?!" Shouted Gibbs.

"I'm not telling you! Not until I am sure! So either you take me to yours or I will drive there myself, and I don't care about crashing!"

"Fine." Gibbs puts his hands up. On the way to Gibbs' Grace remains absolutely silent. At the door Gibbs stops Grace. "Now you tell me what I am worried about finding."

"I'm worried about what you might not find. I need you to go into the room you made up for me. Then you look at the bookcase. Bring me the bigger encyclopaedia." Gibbs follows Grace's instructions and goes to the encyclopaedia, pulling it out of the bookshelf. He looked through the house to see Grace sitting on the front door step. When he opens the book it automatically realises that it has been hollowed out to hit something. Something he hoped not to see. The desert eagle pistol. He carried the box out to Grace. "This is what you didn't want me to see isn't it? When we get back, we'll have a nice chat in an interrogation room." From that moment Gibbs grabs the collar of Grace's jacket and shoves her into the car which she gets into.

**The office**

The ping of the lift door catches Ziva and McGee's eyes, which look shocked as Gibbs dragged Grace out of the lift by the collar. He drops the hollowed book onto Dinozzo's desk.

"Take that to Abby." Demanded Gibbs dragging Grace into an interrogation room where he slams her down in the chair. "Now you tell me where you are in possession of a desert eagle pistol?"

"It is my choice of weapon if you must know. I was given it by Tyler Baxter, who is my foster mum's brother living in America. And I watched him die from heart disease. So yes, I kept it but not once have I ever used it."

"So why were you so worried about it being lost?"

"Because it was missing yesterday afternoon after I left it in the encyclopaedia. And I knew that you would interrogate me one way or another. And I would like to do it now rather than later. That is why I was so worried Gibbs, I didn't want to get pulled into all of this but I did. What worries me more is the fact that the gun is now there. And I fear that it is our murder weapon."

"When do you think the gun went missing?"

"Sometime between having dinner and when I went to the supermarket with you."

"And you didn't think to tell me?"

"I only realised before we left. And I didn't want to worry you more." There is a knock at the door which Gibbs answers and leaves. Grace slumps down on the desk as Gibbs talks with Ziva and Abby.

"What is it you two?"

"Someone has come forward to claim Christy, well two people have. And another has brought the baby that Lake's wife had. Not to mention another man has come into the picture, calls himself Dylan and he wants to see Grace."

"And I found a match to the blonde hair found on the wife. It belonged to a man named Harry Monroe who is also downstairs."

"Take DNA from the baby. No one takes Christy yet, Ziva, look after Christy. Get Dinozzo to question Monroe and McGee to observe. Good job Abby."

"Gibbs?" Abby paused, "I also found a print on the gun belonging to-"

"Grace. Thank you Abby." Gibbs opens the door. "You will come with me and shadow McGee Grace and I won't hear a word from you." Grace gets up and follows Gibbs to McGee. "McGee, you do not let her out of your sight or so help me you won't live to see the next sunrise."

"Right boss, where to?" McGee asked.

"Well let's meet the people who have come to play."

"There is Dylan Cossack, here to see Grace. There is Alison Lake, Christy's grandma. There is also Mrs Lake's sister in law called Jill Ranch. And Paul and Linda Winters who are the foster parents of Riley, the baby in the picture. The Winters have taken the baby down to see Abby. The grandma and aunt are here with Ziva and Dylan is waiting at my desk. And Monroe is denying everything about being the home and his partner has produced a strong alibi. He's not our guy Gibbs."

"Then how did his hair get on the female vic McGee?"

"We don't know Gibbs but we had to let Monroe go until we have more evidence."

"I need to chat with Christy Ziva." Gibbs looked to Ziva, crouching beside Christy. "Now what can you tell me about the people you saw come in with you today?" Christy remained silent and ran over to Grace's side jumping up at her to be picked up. Grace turned away but Christy ran around to the other side.

"Grace." Christy whimpered getting extremely agitated making Grace look pleadingly to her father Gibbs.

"Fine."

"Okay Christy, what can you tell me about the people that came out of the lift just now?" Grace asked whisking Christy into the air.

"Grandma came in with my auntie." Christy leaned towards Grace's ear. "I don't like auntie." She looked at Gibbs and back at Grace. "Then there's the man with wet hair. He looks worried. And there's a nice lady with a baby too. Then there's a man who scares me."

"That's really good Christy. Alison Lake should be given custody of Christy. And you need to question Dylan." Grace said putting Christy down. Dylan stands up at McGee's desk.

"No way! I've done nothing wrong." He protested.

"Please Gibbs, I have a theory. Just question him about the gun and the woman. Please." Grace pleaded Gibbs.

"Come on Grace, you know I've done nothing wrong." Pleaded Dylan as Gibbs led him to another interrogation room past Harry Monroe who knocks into him. Gibbs forces Dylan into a chair. "Why have you brought me in here, I haven't done anything wrong?"

"Well, something tells me that you should tell me how you come to be here."

"I, I followed Grace."

"Really? And how did you know where Grace was staying?"

"Again, I followed Grace."

"You're not painting much of a good picture for yourself. I have reason to believe you trespassed in my house."

"You're house? She told me it was her dad's." Gibbs remained silent. "You mean you're her biological father?"

"You were trespassing in my house!" Shouted Gibbs.

"Alright, alright. I needed a little protection from someone who was abusing someone close to me. And I knew Grace had that gun so I thought I could easily scare someone with it."

"Right, but I am going to need some names." Gibbs demanded.

"I can't give you any names and I won't tell you either." Another knock on the door, Abby enters the room.

"I'm here for a hair sample." Dylan plucks a hair around the undersides of the back of his head and drops it into the bag Abby has.

**The lab**

But when Abby tested the hair it showed no match to the range of hairs from the crime scene. Grace was looking over Abby's shoulder.

"There's no match, is there?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking, I have a theory." Grace told Abby of her theory.

"Are you sure?" Abby asked. "It is a long shot but it's possible."

"Come on, we have to get Gibbs now!" Grace dashes into the lift, Abby quick on her tail.

**Interrogation**

"I know it breaks one of your rules Gibbs but I need to take another sample." Grace bursts into the room, Dylan reaches on the underside of his ear. "No, let me." Grace pulls one hair from the top of head and passes it to Abby. "Don't ask any more questions Gibbs. Allow me. So Dylan, tell me what you think you had a hair transplant?"

"Hair transplant?" Gibbs asked.

"Why of course. When Mr Monroe wanted me money for his drug addiction he sold his hair, And Dylan wanted some blonde locks. So that's why Mr Monroe had been nowhere near the Lake's house. Because Dylan was there all along. Because he is baby Riley's father. And he wanted responsibility as a father. But when Mr Lake found out, he wasn't having any of it and wrestled the gun from Dylan. So Mr Lake shot his wife upon hearing of her affair. Then Dylan struggled with him and we all know the rest. Am I correct?"

"Close enough." Dylan whimpered.

"Then my work here is done." Grace left the room.


End file.
